God bragged on Job to Satan. Job had great character and integrity. He was a man of his word, an honest God-fearing man who was passionately devoted to God. He respected God and refused to do evil. Job was the most influential man in the East!

Job had three daughters and seven sons. He owned vast herds of livestock, had many servants and was the richest man in the East. Job always sought the Lord to forgive his children’s sin.

When the Lord met with His angels, Satan the Accuser was there with them. The Lord inquired of Satan, "Where have you been and what have you been up to?" Satan replied, "I have been roaming around the earth, checking things out, going from place to place." Then the Lord said to Satan, "Have you ever noticed my friend Job? There is no one on earth like him. He is a good, faithful man. He respects Me and refuses to do evil."

Satan snarled, “Job’s heart is towards You and he respects You because You protect him, his family and his fortune. You always insure that nothing bad happens to him or his possessions. He is wealthy, influential, and successful because Your hand of blessing rests upon everything he touches. Why wouldn’t he love and serve You? But, if You destroyed what is dear to him Job would curse You.”

The Lord replied, “Alright, have at it. I will allow you to destroy his possessions and all that is his but do not hurt Job himself.”

God removed the fiery hedge of angelic protection from round Job so Satan could bring loss, destruction and death. God allowed Satan to touch Job’s flesh with boils and great pain. He touched Job’s soul with grief and sorrow. Job lost it all.

Sometimes for us to see beyond the surface into the deep things of God, we need to battle through life experiences. Battles reveal the condition of our heart. Too often we see losses as a hardship because we don’t look beyond the obvious into the hidden truths God is trying to reveal.

Words become spirit and truth when we speak life into an atmosphere. It is for us to know kingdom truth that is hidden in Scripture and the dreams of the night.

"In a dream, a vision of the night, when sound sleep falls on men, While they slumber in their beds, then He opens the ears of men, and seals their instruction, that He may turn man aside from his conduct, and keep man from pride; He keeps back his soul from the pit, and his life from passing over into Sheol.” Job 33:15–18 NASU

The word “dream” in Hebrew is “Chalom” spelled Chet, Lamed, Final Mem. The word itself means the yolk of an egg where life is formed, or to restore to health. This Hebrew word tells us that we can find answers to life in our dreams. Dreams can restore us to health through intimacy with God. The esoteric meaning of the word dream is seen in the spelling. The Chet shows a bonding to or a binding with God. The Lamed shows us instruction from heaven. The Final Mem represents the hidden mysteries of God. It is in our dreams that we bind ourselves to God as He reveals His hidden mysteries to us.

By looking at the various translations of theses verses in Job 33 we can get a broader understanding. Many scholars agree that sealed instructions mean that we receive personal messages about our future that is hidden in dreams.

In the Hebrew, the word ‘open’ is ‘galah’ which means to lay bare, reveal, to be intimate with, or to have intercourse. Sometimes rabbis’ see this verb ‘open’ as a Piel (meaning intimacy). God will open our ears to hear, and our eyes to see the plans He has for our future. God given dreams can be more than prophetic they can be a way that God reveals His intimate secrets to us.

During sleep, God can become very intimate with us. During sleep our spirit does not slumber but it actively searches for God. Our spirit is not influenced by the limitations of the physical body while we are asleep. In the dreams of the night we are able to see ourselves as God sees us in the past, present and in the future.

Sealed Dreams

Sealed dreams are not remembered because God seals them in our subconscious until the preparation process is complete in us. Then the seal is broken. Upon hearing, seeing, and walking through a situation in life our past dream is recalled and remembered. That is why some call this a déjà vu (or already seen) experience. Years ago the dreamer dreamed the experience, interacting with the characters of the dream. It was sealed and forgotten. In the fullness of time, when the dreamer is walking into the situation in real time, the near memory is triggered and the dreamer recalls the previous dream events. He then follows the script that was written in the past, in the dream. This invokes the feelings of “I’ve been here or done this before.

Job 33 gives us some great insights into the various ways God communicate with us. First and foremost God speaks through His written Word.

God speaks to people in many different ways, yet if we have hardened our heart, if we are not careful to listen or have not attuned our spirit to understand His ways, we will not prosper.

“Look, in this you are not righteous. I will answer you, for God is greater than man. Why do you contend with Him? For He does not give an accounting of any of His words.”

God speaks once or twice through our state of affairs. He speaks through the circumstances and situations that surround life. God speaks through friends, family members, employees, music, books, movies, newspapers, radio, TV, billboards just to mention a few. If we ignore God’s prompting or we don’t perceive what He is saying, God will speak to us through a dream or a vision of the night to get His message through to us.

“For God may speak in one way, or in another, yet man does not perceive it.”

Sometimes the only time God can speak to us is while we are asleep. One of the best and easiest times to receive the understanding of a dream is during the twilight time of sleep. Twilight is the time right before falling asleep or waking from sleep. It is easier to remember and receive the interpretation of a dream during this time. Our subconscious spirit is actively searching; but, your mind is not at full capacity.

God will also speak when we are in a deep sleep. He may take us past several layers of our subconscious so we are not able to argue with Him. In this state we focus and concentrate on the brilliant colorful lucid dreams God gives.

God’s ways are higher than our ways. So God speaks in one way and then another to turn us from our plans and hurtful deeds. He conceals pride from us to keep us from death at the hands of the enemy.

In a dream, in a vision of the night, when deep sleep falls upon men, while slumbering on their beds, then He opens the ears of men, and seals their instruction. In order to turn man from his deed, and conceal pride from man, He keeps back his soul from the Pit, and his life from perishing by the sword.

If we continually ignore God’s voice or rebelliously refuse His instruction; sickness will chasten us on a bed of affliction. When we are rendered helpless or confined to bed we have plenty of time to reflect on life, listen to and consider God’s ways.

"Man is also chastened with pain on his bed, and with strong pain in many of his bones, so that his life abhors bread, and his soul succulent food. His flesh wastes away from sight and his bones stick out which once were not seen. Yes, his soul draws near the Pit and his life to the executioners”.

If we humbly inquire God will show us what caused the sickness. He will send a messenger, a dream interpreter or one who understands the ways of God. The Bible tells us interpreters of dreams are rare, they are one in a thousand. If the afflicted person listens to the interpretation of his dream and repents; the messenger will pray to deliver the man from his disease. The one who is skilled at hearing God’s voice and understands His ways will possess the power to heal. God is gracious and merciful. He doesn’t want anyone to perish especially from sickness. God is a healer.

"If there is a messenger for him, a mediator, one among a thousand, to show man His uprightness, then He is gracious to him, and says, 'Deliver him from going down to the Pit; I have found a ransom'; His flesh shall be young like a child's, He shall return to the days of his youth. He shall pray to God, and He will delight in him, He shall see His face with joy, for He restores to man His righteousness. Then he looks at men and says, 'I have sinned, and perverted what was right, and it did not profit me.' He will redeem his soul from going down to the Pit, and his life shall see the light. "Behold, God works all these things, twice, in fact, three times with a man, to bring back his soul from the Pit, that he may be enlightened with the light of life. Job 33:12–30 NKJV

In Job 33:14 we see several different levels of the dream realm that God communicates to us through. The first way God communicates to us is through speech or His spoken word. God speaks (dabar) to man several times in many different figurative ways to communicate His eloquent messages. He will appoint others to speak His counsel to us. He will advise us in affairs of life. He will bid, command and commune with us. He will declare truths to destroy harmful plans, and give us clarity of promises. He will sing over us, say loving words of encouragement, and be a spokesman who subdues our enemies. He talks to us, teaches us His truths and tells us of His plans and purposes. He will speak the answers to our prayers while we sleep. He thinks of us night and day. He entreats us through utterance and works with us in varied manners to enable us to understand.

If we do not perceive or understand His speech He will come to us when we are in slumber (tenuwmah). This is when we are drowsy or just starting to slip into sleep. If we don’t comprehend His ways during slumber He will speak again during the next phase called deep sleep.

Deep sleep (tardemah) is during times of lethargy or by implication a trance state. When we are in this trance state God often moves us into the next realm which is the vision (chizzayown) realm. God will show Himself to us in this phase of sleep. This phase of deep sleep brings forth an expectation of revelation through a dream or vision.

The last level of the dream realm mentioned in this passage that we can experience is called the dream phase (chalom). In this dream phase God reveals His plans and purposes to us.

Seeing the future is the most difficult for us to handle because we are not mature enough to come to grips with it yet. This is why God hides things from us to keep us from pride. He uses symbolism so we do not fully know or recognize the magnitude of what He reveals. If we knew certain things about the future we would not be fully prepared to embrace them at our present level of spiritual development. This is one reason God seals the things He shows us in dreams.

Once His plans are revealed to our spirit, the Holy Spirit then begins to make us into the man or woman of God we need to be by developing our faith, trust and character. We don’t recall the dream until we have developed our life to the point where we are able to handle the great blessings God has shown us. Once we reach maturity, a specific point of development or gain the needed wisdom the dream is recalled or unsealed and we remember the dream in detail.

Concealed truth protects people from being accountable to the truth they are not able to apprehend yet. It is the glory of God to conceal a matter until we are able to dig it out, comprehend and walk in the weighty truth it reveals. God desires to bring a greater weight of glory so He is developing our faith muscles.

Job heard God speak to him and he gained a revelation about God. Job said, “I have spoken about things too wonderful for me. I have known You by the hearing of the ear but now I see You and tremble.” "Even after my skin is destroyed, Yet from my flesh I shall see God; Job 19:26 NASU God is applying eye salve to our eyes so we can see in the realm of the Spirit. Those that know their God shall perform great exploits Matthew 5:8 declares, "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. NASU

God inhabits us when we offer Him a pure heart as a dwelling and resting place. Job’s obedience broke him into the realm of double. We are in a much better place. We live in the time of fullness.

When Job humbled himself and prayed for his friends the process of his restoration to greater prosperity began. He knew the importance of forgiving those who did him wrong. Job was long suffering, merciful, gracious, and treated his friends with goodness. Job was a man who always spoke the truth. The spirit of truth will lead and guide us into all truth.